Fairy Tail's Elemental Master
by The Dark Dragon Emperor
Summary: Everyone thinks that Fairy Tail only has four official S-Class Wizards, but they're wrong. There was always a fifth one, only known to select few, one that was strong, perhaps stronger than everyone else. And now...he's coming back.
1. Chapter 1: The Hidden Mage Returns

Chapter 1: The Hidden Mage Returns

* * *

 **Hello everyone! The Dark Dragon Emperor here with a new story for all of you! This time it's gonna be a Fairy Tail story, where I will be introducing an OC into the mix.**

 **Now I don't really have much more to say other than the fact that this is going to mainly start out during the Phantom Lord Arc, because that's where I've decided that my OC's gonna come back.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail, for it belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I did own Fairy Tail, I would have made a couple of changes.**

 **Now let's begin!**

* * *

(Somewhere in Fiore)

A lone figure walked along a dirt road that went right through the forest. He was covered up in a dark blue cloak and had a bandanna that covered the top of his head that had a silver plate of metal on it. His arms and legs were covered in bandages, and he had a staff in his hand that was resting on his shoulder.

This was Mystogan, an S-Class Wizard of the Guild known as Fairy Tail. He was heading back to the Guild to take a mission or two before he disappeared again.

He heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from some distance away. Mystogan deviated from his original path and raced towards where the explosion occured.

Several minutes later, Mystogan arrived to see what appeared to be the remains of a Dark Guild known as Hunting Crow. He had heard that they were making trouble for a nearby town and was going to see if they needed any help. He saw a figure emerging from the smoke and readied his staff, but lowered it once he saw who it was.

The new figure was a young man in his late teens. He had uniquely colored hair that was spiked backwards, as it was red in the middle, but on the left and right sides had tufts of gold. He wore a gold, unzipped jacket with the mark for Fairy Tail on the back of it in black. Underneath that he wore a red shirt with a black collar, and had black pants with black boots. Around his neck were lacrima headphones that were currently turned off. He looked up and his blue eyes widened when he saw Mystogan.

"Mystogan? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Hello Neo," Mystogan greeted. "I was just passing through when I saw smoke rising. I assume that this is your doing?"

Neo nodded and explained, "Yes, this Guild has been bothering the people of the nearby town and asked me to help them. Being who I am, I just had to help out, not to mention it would also look bad on Fairy Tail if I refused a mission."

Mystogan nodded in agreement. "I'm heading back to the Guild, shall I tell the Master that you've been doing well?"

"Sure, and tell him that I'm almost done with my training too," Neo asked. "I should be done in less than a month."

"Has it been 4 years already?" Mystogan asked.

"You would know if you actually stayed in one place for more than a day," Neo told him.

"It is in my nature to wander," Mystogan defended.

Neo scoffed and began to walk away. "By the way," he called out, "keep an eye out for Phantom Lord, they've been acting suspicious when I last saw them. And I heard them muttering something about Fairy Tail also."

"And you didn't interrogate them?" Mystogan asked.

Neo stopped and turned around with a deadpan expression. "Last time I checked, I'm not Erza or Natsu. Besides, Juvia of the Element Four was nearby and I didn't want to start anything without it escalating."

Mystogan nodded and watched as Neo departed from the area before leaving himself.

* * *

(Later)

"Thank you young man, how can we ever repay you?" the mayor asked as Neo returned to the town and reported that the Dark Guild had been taken out.

"There's no need to thank me," Neo told him. "I did this only because you asked me, not for any reward."

"Still, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't reward you in any way," the mayor protested.

Neo sighed, he realized that the mayor wouldn't take no for an answer, resigned to his demands. "So what are you offering?" he asked.

"A nice sum of 50,000 Jewels plus a lacrima containing several songs, I noticed the headphones around your neck and figured that this would make a nice bonus," the mayor told him.

"That's fine," Neo said, glad that he wasn't being given too much. "This will make my training much more enjoyable."

"Training?" the mayor asked.

"That's right, I'm on a four year training trip to improve my skills," Neo explained.

"That's some commitment young man," the mayor said.

Neo shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. Other members have done more things than me." He took his reward and thanked the mayor before exiting the large building. Neo then walked towards the town gate to continue his journey when he was stopped by a small group of children.

"Hey! You're that wizard that took care of those bad guys right?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Neo said to them. "There something you guys need?"

"Can you show us your magic?" Each of them asked in unison. Neo grinned and motioned for them to follow him. He lead everyone to a small park where he put his stuff by a tree before facing the children again. He noticed that a small group of adults, most likely their parents, had followed as well.

"So you guys want to see my magic?" Neo asked. The children pleaded with him and Neo laughed at their antics. "Alright, just back up a bit.

Once everyone was at a safe distance, Neo took in a deep breath before he slammed his fists together and a red magic seal appeared in front of him.

 **"Elemental Soul: Fire!"**

Neo was engulfed in a bright light before it faded. What was in his place was a large figure made completely out of fire. His eyes and mouth could be made out as they were both a bright white.

"Pretty cool, don't you think?" Neo asked as he showed off to the kids.

"I think you mean, very hot!" a kid shouted before everyone laughed at his joke.

"Hey mister, can you teach me how to do that?" another kid asked.

Neo ended his transformation before kneeling down in front of the kid. "What's your name kid?" he asked.

"I'm Raymond, but everyone calls me Ray!" Ray introduced himself.

"Well, Ray, my name's Neo, Neo Banshin, and no, I can't teach you my magic," he said.

"But why not?" Ray asked. He was disappointed that the wizard wouldn't teach him.

Neo smiled as he recognized the look on the child's face. "Because I think that you should find a type of magic that would fit you. For example, I've got a friend who tried out several different types of magic before she found the one she liked. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," Ray replied, though he sounded a little upset.

Neo took a look at the sky and saw that he needed to get going. He ruffled Ray's hair before collecting his things and waving goodbye. He exited the town and continued on his way to continue his training.

"Talking to kids is easy, I don't know why Master says it's too hard," Neo wondered. "Maybe it's because I'm still a kid myself."

* * *

(One Week Later-Magnolia)

Mystogan stood before the Guild Hall before he took his staff and activated a sleep spell. Once he was sure that all of the normal members had fallen asleep, Mystogan entered the Guild and approached the stairs to the second level.

"Why must you do this every time you enter Mystogan?" a short man in an orange outfit asked. His eyse were slightly drooped as well as the spell came suddenly.

"I like to keep my privacy," was all he said as he picked out a job. As he walked away, he stopped and raised the spell over Makarov and said, "I ran into Neo a week ago."

"How was he? I haven't seen him since Lisanna's funeral," Makarov asked.

"He seemed stronger, I met him as he finished taking out a Dark Guild," Mystogan told him. "He said that he should be home in less than a month."

Makarov smiled as he said, "That's good, he's been away for far too long. A child like him needs to be home more often."

Mystogan nodded and walked out of the Guild, lifting the spell when he was out of the doors. As he walked away, he could hear them all beginning to shout and yell as he smirked under his mask.

They'll never change.

* * *

(Several Weeks Later)

Neo smiled as he saw Magnolia in the distance, he was feeling very happy to see his home after several years. He wondered if any of them managed to destroy the Guild while he was gone. He hoped not, because then he probably wouldn't recognize it.

When he entered the gate, he could feel that it was very tense, and that everyone seemed worried.

Neo approached a man and asked him, "What's going on?"

"There's a Guild war going on between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord," the man answered. "Phantom Lord destroyed Fairy Tail's Guild Hall and injured three members. Fairy Tail then marched onto Phantom's home and attacked, but I heard that they had to retreat because something happened to their Master. Now Phantom's attacking Fairy Tail with their Guild Hall!"

Neo said nothing as his anger began to grow. Magical energy erupted from him as he glared darkly in the direction of his home. He could see that there was a large cloud of black smoke rising up, meaning that something big was happening. A red magic seal appeared underneath him and flames from underneath his feet propelled him into the air like a rocket.

Neo aimed himself at the Guild Hall, where he could see his Guild destroyed and a large mechanical robot in the ocean that was overlooked by the cliff his Guild was built on. It was drawing a magic circle in the air, one that Neo recognized as Abyss Break. He then saw that many of his Guildmates were fighting specters in purple robes as they tried to defend the Guild. Anger coursing through his veins, Neo shot forward like a rocket and aimed himself at an opening in the giant robot.

* * *

(Fairy Tail)

Cana Alberona cursed as she took out more Shades. She was beginning to run low on energy and they just kept coming! It didn't help that the Abyss Break was almost done as well.

"Cana, what are we gonna do now?" Wakaba asked. He was showing signs of exhaustion due to the Shades stealing his magic.

"I don't know, but all we can do right now is hope that Natsu and the others stop that thing or we're done for," Cana answered.

"And what about the Shades?" Macao asked.

"All we can do is just take them out as fast as we can!" Alzack yelled as he shot more Shades.

Suddenly, a streak of fire appeared in the sky and shot towards Phantom Lord's Guild Hall. It burst into the giant machine and caused it to shudder due to the force that was behind the fire.

"What the Hell was that?!" Wakaba shouted.

Cana smiled happily as she recognized what that fire was. "It's Neo! He's back! We can win now!" she shouted.

"Neo!? I thought he was gonna be home next week!" Wakaba shouted.

"Apparently not!" Macao told him as he took out a Shade with Purple Fire.

"Who's Neo?" Bisca asked them.

"He's one of Fairy Tail's S-Class Wizards," Cana answered. "Only a few people in the Guild know about his existence because he likes to keep it that way. He's arguably one of the most powerful members of the Guild."

* * *

(Inside Phantom Lord's Guild)

Erza Scarlet, the Titania of Fairy Tail, and sole female S-Class Wizard of the entire Guild, was facing off against Jose Porla, Guild Master of Phantom Lord and one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Behind her were the unconscious bodies of Gray Fullbuster, and Elfman and Mirajane Strauss. A loud boom echoed through the area as pieces of rubble began to fall from the ceiling and walls. Erza's eyes widened as she recognized the magical energy that just entered the Guild Hall.

"You're Dragon's quite loud," Jose said calmly.

"He may be unruly, but he's an extremely powerful Wizard," Erza proclaimed as she pointed her sword at the Guild Master, she was clad in her **Black Wing Armor** and was prepared to take down Jose.

"He's also making quite a ruckus of my Guild Hall, if he keeps this up the ceiling will fall right on our heads," Jose told her.

Erza began to chuckle, much to Jose's confusion. "You're quite mistaken if you think that Natsu is the cause of this, then you're quite mistaken."

"Oh? And who is it then?" Jose questioned.

"One of our Guild's strongest members," Erza told him.

"So either Laxus or Mystogan have decided to join the battle then? No matter, I'll defeat them just as I'll defeat you," Jose said as he aimed an open palm at the red haired woman.

"You're still wrong, the person who just entered this place, is stronger than both of them!" Erza shouted as she dashed towards Jose and swung her sword at him. The Wizard Saint simply vanished and reappeared behind Erza before sending out a pulse of energy at her, sending her flying into a wall.

"Surely you're bluffing, there's nobody like that in your Guild. Makarov is out of magic, and Gildarts Clive is still out of the country," Jose said as he sent out small orbs of darkness at Erza. The Titania quickly moved out of the way as the orbs shot right past her and destroyed pieces of rubble.

She slashed at Jose and he simply vanished once more before he reappeared and had a purple seal over his hand. Three skull-like ghosts shot out and wrapped around Erza, electrocuting her on the process.

"To think that Fairy Tail would try to hide a Wizard of that caliber. Makarov must really want to be the best in the country, especially if he's got the heir to the Heartfilia Family in his Guild," Jose sneered. "So now he wants to buy his way to the top, does he? I refuse to let that happen! I will not allow my Guild to be called equal to Fairy Tail of all things!"

Erza began to laugh at him. "It's laughable at how badly you're concerned with your Guild's ranking, but it's even more amusing at how misinformed you are about Lucy! She came to us as a runaway, she doesn't have access to her families fortune! You don't know anything about Lucy or the tears she's shed due to her past!"

Jose snarled as he electrocuted Erza once more, this time more harshly. "Well I'll find out soon enough, I'm going to make her my prisoner and bleed the Heartfilia Family dry! And then I'm going to watch Makarov drown in despair once he sees all of his 'precious children' dead and gone! And I'll start with you! Any last words dear?"

Erza opened up one eye and, despite the pain, grinned. "Just...two..." she said.

"Piss off!"

Jose felt incredible pain on his right side as he was sent flying towards the wall. He crashed through the wall and lost hold of the spell holding Erza. She fell to the floor, only to be caught by a figure that was made out of stone.

"You alright?" Neo asked as he reverted back to normal.

"I'll be fine," Erza said as she tried to stand, only to fall down to one knee in pain.

"That's enough, just take the others and get out of here," Neo told her. "I'll take care of Jose. Now where's Natsu?"

"He's rescuing Lucy, our new member and Phantom's target," Erza answered.

"I take it she's the Heartfilia girl you two were talking about?" Neo questioned. Erza nodded and Neo turned back to where Jose was. "I've managed to wake up Mira, now you two need to take the others and get out of here. The situation outside is getting worse."

Erza looked over and saw that Mira was indeed awake and was supporting Gray. Erza nodded and grabbed Elfman before both girls escaped from the area.

Neo looked over to see Jose pulling himself out of the wall. "Who are you?" he asked as he dusted off his cloak.

"Me? I'm Neo Banshin, Fairy Tail's secret S-Class Wizard. I'm pretty sure Erza told you about me a minute or two ago," Neo told Jose as he got into a fighting position. Jose just grinned darkly and summoned more skeletal beings to his side.

"So you're Makarov's secret weapon eh? I have to say, the look on his face when I present him your corpse will be priceless," Jose said.

"First off, I'm nobody's secret weapon, I'm a Mage like everyone else in our Guilds. It's not my fault that I'm more skilled than others," Neo said as a magic seal appeared in front of him, this time it was a brown one."

"And secondly, there's no way I'm going to lose to a guy like you!"

* * *

 **Alright, here's the first chapter. I think that it turned out pretty well considering I'm starting later in the series than normal.**

 **The main pairing for this will be Neo x Wendy. You guys may be confused by this, but you will understand in the next chapter. So please be patient, and you will get your answers.**

 **So what do you guys think? Good, bad, okay, wonderful? That box is down there for a reason!**

 **Please Review! Ciao!**


	2. Chapter 2: Phantom's End

Chapter 2: Phantom's End

* * *

 **I'm back everyone! And with a new chapter as well!**

 **So I got some good reviews lest time, looks like I'm off to a good start with this. I honestly didn't expect this much, so I'm really happy with all of your support.**

 **Now let's begin!**

* * *

(Phantom Lord Guild Hall)

 **"Elemental Soul: Earth!"**

Neo was engulfed in a bright light once more, and this time he was replaced with a large figure made out of stone. His eyes and mouth were filled with a white light and he prepared himself for battle.

Jose launched blasts of darkness at the stone figure, and Neo raised his arms in defense as a response. The dark bullets only chipped away small pebbles at Neo's arms though. Once Jose stopped to see if that did the trick, Neo slammed his arm on the ground.

 **"Stalagmite Wave!"**

Multiple stalagmites shot up from the floor and continued to do so while getting closer to Jose. The Guild Master vanished from sight once again and reappeared a distance away.

"HA!" Jose released a large blast of dark magic at Neo.

 **"Element Shift: Ice!"**

Neo was engulfed in a bright light once more, and this time he emerged as a creature made completely out of ice. He then morphed his arm into a giant mirror and reflected Jose's attack back at him. Of course, the Wizard Saint wasn't affected by it that much due to it being his own spell.

"That is some very unique magic," Jose said as he observed Neo's new form. "Care to explain what it is?"

"It's called **Elemental Soul** ," Neo began, "and it allows me to become any element I desire. You could say that I'm all of the Element Four rolled up into one, along with some extras."

"I'd try to convince you to join my Guild, but I can see that you are devoted to that wretched Guild of yours," Jose commented. Neo said nothing before he dashed forward and morphed his hands into blades. He began to perform a dangerous dance against Jose, and the Guild Master simply moved side to side as he avoided Neo's attacks. Neo then made a quick upward slash, and Jose simply moved backwards to avoid it, but felt a sharp sting on his cheek.

He briefly touched it to see that it was blood and looked at Neo to see that his arms were coated with sharp wind magic. His anger boiled over and he closed his eyes before they shot open, becoming dark with small pupils.

"You dare to touch me with your filthy Fairy Tail hands?!" Jose roared before he sent out a wave of dark magic, this time stronger than the last.

 **"Element Shift: Iron!"**

Neo once again changed forms, this time into a bulky figure made out of shining metal.

 **"Heavy Metal Shield!"**

Neo created a shield with his arms and took cover behind it. The blast hit wall and createda shockwave that blasted apart most of the area. Neo then slammed his hands against the wall and sent out a pulse of magic.

 **"Iron Pillars!"**

Multiple metallic pillars shot out of the shield, aimed towards Jose. The Guild Master gathered darkness in his hand and shot it forward.

 **"Dead Wave!"**

The blast destroyed the pillars and the shield. Most of the room was in shambles and the outside could be seen in the sky. Jose noted how there were clouds in the sky and that they seemed to be circling his mobile Guild Hall.

Jose then grunted in pain as he felt a shocking pain in his back. He was shot forward and landed on his feet. He turned around and saw that Neo was behind him, with his body made of lightning.

Neo then dashed forward at blinding speeds and smashed his electric fist into Jose, sending the Guild Master back even more. He kept up the assault until Jose released a blast of dark magic, sending Neo flying backwards into the rubble.

 _'What the Hell was I thinking? Goiing up against a Guild Master, and one of the Ten Wizard Saints no less,'_ Neo berated himself. _'Just gonna have to step it up a notch!'_

 **"Element Shift: Earth!"**

Neo burst through the rubble as he was once again a stone being. He glared at jose, who just sneered in response.

"You already tried this boy," he said.

"Maybe, but I haven't tried THIS!" Neo cried as a small cannon appeared on his wrist. He reared his arm back before throwing it forward and releasing a stone that was glowing with red energy. Jose quickly created a Shade to block his attack, only to be thrown back by the resulting explosion. The Wizard Saint looked and saw that the cracks that ran along Neo's body were glowing with a red color.

"Two elements?" Jose wondered out loud. Neo said nothing as four holes appeared on his back. Flames erupted from them, and propelled the Mage forward. Jose quickly moved out of the way as Neo crashed into where he was, and released a large explosion as a result. Neo blasted forward once more and slammed his fist into Jose, the Guild Master grunted in pain as he was blasted back by the explosion.

Neo landed on the ground and panted lightly. "Where the Hell are you Gramps? I know that you're around here somewhere."

"Haven't you heard? Makarov's been drained of his magic," Jose gloated. "Aria used his **Metsu** spell against him and turned him into a frail weakling."

"Then you must be confused, because the Master's here," Neo said as he reverted back to normal.

True to his words, a bright light entered the room and both Wizards looked up to see a small figure descending into the room. Neo smiled faintly as he felt the light healing him of the minor bruises that he received.

"Much blood has been spilled," Makarov began, "the children's blood. The mistakes of the parent has brought tears and pain upon the children. This is enough, we will reciprocate! Let's end this Jose!"

Jose grinned maniacally as his magic power erupted around him. "So you desire a catastrophe?" he questioned.

Makarov created a sphere of light at the tip of his finger and began to match the pressure that Jose was creating. "If it is for the sake of my Guild, I would gladly cause one!"

Phantom Lord's Guild Master fired several streams of darkness at the duo. Makarov created several magic seals to act as shields for both him and Neo.

"Go! I shall take care of this!" Makarov ordered. "Find Natsu and Lucy, they're somewhere in this place!"

Neo nodded and raced towards the exit. Before he left, he turned back to the old master and muttered, "You better not fail old man."

Neo raced through the crumbling Guild as Makarov and Jose's battle began to escalate. He quickly moved out of the way as a piece of rubble fell where he was standing. The young man cursed as he saw that the doorway was blocked, and then he was suddenly struck with an idea.

 **"Elemental Soul: Earth!"**

Neo transformed once again and raised his foot up before stomping on the ground hard, creating cracks on the floor. He closed his eyes and began to feel the vibrations as they traveled through the crumbling mech, and grinned when he discovered where Natsu was.

 **"Element Shift: Lightning!"**

Becoming a figure made of lightning, Neo turned into a lightning bold and quickly travelled to the Fire Dragon Slayer. He reappeared in an area that was overlooking the sea, and saw that there were two people there, one of which was being carried by a blue cat. Neo returned to normal and jumped down to the group.

"Who the Hell are you?" the one with pink hair asked.

"Names Neo, one of Fairy Tail's S-Class Wizards," he answered as he looked around.

"Don't lie to me! I've never seen your face in the Guild!" he yelled.

"That's because I've asked Master to keep my existence a secret from most of its members," Neo answered. "At least until I get stronger."

"Just then, a large explosion came from deeper inside the Guild Hall, throwing both the boy and Neo to a lower level.

"Natsu!" the cat yelled.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked. Natsu just laughed and Neo smirked.

"What the heck was that?" the cat asked.

"That would be Gramps giving Jose his punishment," Neo answered. "Am I to presume that you're Natsu?"

"Yup, and that's my partner Happy!" Natsu said.

"Aye!" Happy called.

"Why are you just now trusting him?!" the girl screamed.

"I can smell Gramps and Erza on him, that means that he's on our side," Natsu told her. "Besides, he can't be a liar with that kind of hair."

Neo gained a tick mark on his head. "You know, I was gonna give you some fire, but now I'm reconsidering," Neo told him.

"Fire!? Where?!" Natsu yelled. Neo sighed and held out his hand and released a stream of fire, which was promptly gobbled up by the Dragon Slayer. Natsu grinned and jumped to his feet as he was rejuvinated.

Neo then turned to the girl who Happy was carrying and asked, "Are you the Heartfilia girl that Jose's been going on about?"

"Y-yeah, I'm Lucy," she introduced herself. Neo nodded, and then felt some kind of slimy feeling on his hand, he turned around to see that Natsu had stuck his hand in his mouth.

"What the Hell are you doing!?" Neo yelled as he kicked Natsu into a wall.

"Well you shot fire out from your hand, so you must be made of fire!" Natsu pointed out with his unique logic. "Plus, I'm really hungry!"

"I'm flesh and bone moron!" Neo shouted. He then transformed his arm into an ice blade and held it threateningly. "Try that again and I'll cut you!"

The clouds above them began to darken as a great magical power was being built up. The four of them stopped and turned back to the main part of the mechanized Guild Hall to see a bright light coming from the center of the structure. Neo then looked up to see a large magic seal appear in the sky for a moment before it erupted in a brilliant light.

"Fairy Law..." Neo whispered as he felt the warm light wash over him. He looked out and saw that all of the Shades were disappearing as Fairy Law eliminated them, marking Fairy tail as the victor. Neo smiled as the light faded and everything returned to normal.

"You guys gonna be alright here?" Neo asked.

"Yeah, don't worry about us," Natsu told him. "We're fine."

Neo nodded and created a red seal under his feet. The seal exploded in fire and made Neo rocket off towards the remains of the Fairy Tail Guild. He saw everyone cheering as Makarov began to speak.

"I had very little to do with this," he called down to them. "This victory, is yours my children!"

The cheers became louder and Neo landed next to Makarov, who smiled at his appearance, though most of Fairy Tail's members were confused as to who Neo was.

"Master Makarov, it's good to see you again after all these years," Neo said as he reached out for a handshake.

Makarov returned the greeting and said, "It's very good to see you as well Neo. I'm just sorry you had to come during a time like this."

Neo shook his head and said to him, "Don't worry about it, I'm just glad I was able to help out."

"Hey Master," Alzack shouted, "who's that guy? Is he a friend of yours?"

Makarov turned back to his Guild members and began, "Ah yes, everyone, allow me to introduce you to one of Fairy Tail's S-Class Wizards, Neo Banshin!"

"Eh?! He's S-Class!?" Bisca shouted. "But how come we haven't heard of him?"

"I asked Master to keep my existence a secret, as I wanted to improve my powers before I fully revealed myself to all of you," Neo explained. "I've been on a 4-Year training journey, and have just finished today."

"That's a good reason to party!" Macao cheered.

"You just want another reason to get drunk," Wakaba accused him.

Makarov jumped down to the ground and slowly approached the remains of the Guild. "It's been destroyed," he began. "But I would rather have a trashed Guild Hall than having any of you hurt."

"Yeah, but you do know that it's going to cost a lot of Jewels to fix this place, right?" Gray asked as he came over with Elfman, Erza, and Mira. He froze for a moment before erupting into tears as he realized that the cost would put him in debt.

"Well we won't have to pay for wood you know, we do have Laki to help us in that department," Neo pointed out.

"Yes, and you can supply the metal!" Mira added.

"My money is saved!" Makarov cheered.

"Master...I'm sorry," Lucy sniffed as she stepped forward she was close to crying. "I caused all of this."

"Lucy," Makarov began as he stepped towards her and place a hand on her shoulder. "We may not be able to share all of our emotions, but we can do so to some extent. That is what a Guild is for, to share our happiness and our tears, that way we may share the burden."

Lucy began to cry at his words, as she released her pent up sadness, Makarov looked to be deep in thought for a moment.

"Uh oh," Gray muttered.

"What is it?" Neo asked, having never seen that face on the aged master.

"I know that look, it's the look he gets when he's thinking about what the Magic Council is going to do," Gray told him. As soon as he finished, Makarov burst into tears and began babbling something about being arrested.

"What the Hell?!" Neo shouted.

* * *

(One Week Later)

Neo was sitting under a tree and writing a book in his journal.

 _It's been a week since I arrived to see Phantom Lord attack Fairy Tail. Though I am sure that we would have won if I didn't arrive, I'm still glad that I was able to help out. So after all was said and done, the Rune Knights arrived the next day to round everyone up. It took a week to explain everything, of course, it didn't help that the stupid frog that was questioning me had a bad attitude. He came so close to attacking me, of course, it didn't help that he had to deal with Natsu before coming to me._

 _So anyway, I've been able to catch up on what's been happening during my training. Mira's changed ever since Lisanna's death, she's become nicer and caring. Not that she wasn't before, but that side of her wasn't out 24/7. Though I like this new side of her, I miss the old Mira, the one who would beat the shit out of anyone who pissed her off. I wonder if that side will ever come back..._

 _Anyway, there's a new girl in the Guild, Lucy Heartfilia. She's the runaway daughter that was on the wanted posters I saw two months ago. She's a nice girl, wishes the best for everyone, though she has a bit of a temper. From what I can tell, she's a Celestial Wizard, and she's got four of the Zodiac Keys, really impressive. I'll have to remember to ask her if she could ask Aquarius if I could Take Over some of her water, rumors say that it's the purest water in the world._

Neo closed his book and let out a sigh, he looked out to the town and saw the construction sight that was to be the new Guild. He heard a twig snap and looked over to see Makarov, Cana, and Mirajane approaching him.

"Hey guys," Neo greeted as he sat up.

"Neo, now that all of the craziness is said and done, we can talk about how your journey was," Makarov began.

"But first, you can drop the illusion, it's only the four of us here," Mira said to him.

Neo nodded and closed his eyes. His form began to waver before it disappeared and a shorter, younger, version of him remained. Neo appeared to be around 12-13 years old.

"I was wondering when I'd be able to drop that transformation," Neo said to them, his voice lighter than before. "It's been three months since I've dropped it."

"My, look at how much you've grown," Mira gushed.

Neo rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and told her, "Come on Mira, I haven't grown that much."

"Yes you have," Makarov told him as he stepped towards the young S-Class Wizard, who was now a head taller than him. "Before you left you were as tall as me. Now I'm back to officially being Fairy Tail's second shortest resident."

They all shared a laugh for a moment before Neo said, "I missed this, being with Gramps and my Big Sisters. Whenever I camped out for the night, I would look at the stars and think about how much I would miss you guys."

He then turned to Mira and said to her, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to prevent Lisanna's death, I was in the town you all went to a week before The Beast showed up. Maybe if I stayed, I could have taken care of it and saved you from your grief."

Despite the small tears that were in her eyes, Mira smiled. "Don't worry, it's really my fault. If I had let Natsu come with us, he might have been able to handle Elfman when he lost control."

"Alright, enough with the sad talk," Cana interrupted, we're here to celebrate the return of our little brother! It's just too bad Erza couldn't come."

"I had to leave someone in charge, or else who knows what Natsu and Gray will do," Makarov explained. They all shared a laugh at that, knowing how destructive the those two were.

"So Neo," Cana began with a sly grin, "meet someone special out there? Maybe a nice woman?"

Neo blushed at the implication and said to her, "No, I haven't. Besides, it's hard to find someone with the right personality anyway."

"Well, what kind of person do you prefer?" Cana asked.

"I'd like to be with someone who's kind to everyone, someone who's nice to them even if they're a jackass," Neo explained. "I'd also like it if she could hold herself in a fight, I don't want to have to rush in and be the knight in shining armor all the time you know. And I'd like them to be around my age as well."

Makarov burst into tears and shouted, "THEY GROW UP SO FAST!" The other three just sweat dropped at the Wizard Saint's antics.

* * *

 **Here you go, another chapter. I think that this one turned out well, considering that this is my first Fairy Tail story.**

 **I may know a lot about Fairy Tail, but I don't remember everything. So please forgive me if I screwed something up, either now or in the future. I'll try to keep things the same, but I'll have to change things in order to make this story unique.**

 **So what do you guys think of Neo? His magic is something that's really unique, I don't remember seeing anything like it before And the reason why he's hiding his real age and appearance will be addressed in the future, so you're free to guess!**

 **Please Review! Ciao!**


	3. Chapter 3: An Unusual Mission

Chapter 3: An Unusual Mission

* * *

 **Yo, how's everyone doing today? I'm back with a new chapter for you all.**

 **Because I don't want to jump right into the Tower of Heaven Arc right away, I'm going to create several chapters dedicated to showing all of you the rest of Neo's abilities. There will probably be about two chapters, including this one, before we get to the ToH Arc.**

 **Now sit back, and enjoy!**

* * *

(Magnolia-Neo's House)

Neo slowly opened his eyes and let out a tired yawn. He sat up in his bed and stretched his arms over hie head before slipping out of the sheets. The young boy then smelled a wonderful aroma coming from his kitchen. As if in a trance, he began to trudge towards the kitchen, letting his nose lead him as he was too lazy to open his eyes.

Mirajane was in the kitchen, humming a soft tune as she cooked breakfast. She had left Fairy Hills early that morning to make Neo a welcome home breakfast. She turned to the door when it opened and a tired Neo trudged towards her with his arms outstretched like a zombie. He walked right into her, and his feet was still moving as if he hadn't hit her at all.

"Good morning Neo," Mira giggled. Neo stopped moving and slowly opened his eyes to see that his face was planted into Mira's side. He stepped back and chuckled nervously.

"Good morning Mira, sorry about that," Neo apologized as he went to sit down.

"It's fine Neo," Mira told him as she turned back to the food. "I was expecting you to wake up soon anyway."

"So why are you here making breakfast anyway?" Neo asked. "Not that I'm complaining, I'm just curious."

"It's to welcome you home, you get your own personal meal," Mira explained to him. Neo just grinned at the prospect and eagerly awaited for Mira to finish.

A few minutes later, Mira placed a plate of food in front of Neo. A stack of three pancakes with syrup poured over it, with several mini-sausages on the side along with bacon and a glass of milk.

Neo stabbed his fork into a sausage and popped it into his mouth. As soon as the flavor hit his tastebuds, his face broke into a large grin.

"You're cooking has gotten better Mira," Neo told her as he began to cut up his pancakes. "I've missed your cooking, it's way better than that garbage all those inns had."

"Thank you for the compliments," Mira said to him as she grabbed a piece of toast.

After breakfast, Neo went back into his room and changed into his normal clothes and put on his transformation. He walked back downstairs and saw that Mira was done cleaning and was waiting by the door.

"Ready to go?" he asked as he adjusted his jacket. Mira nodded and the two left for the Guild.

* * *

(Fairy Tail)

The two arrived to see that some of the other members of Fairy Tail had arrived and were beginning to build the new Guild Hall. Makarov had cleared the area of the rubble from the old Guild and everyone began to start construction.

"Yo Gramps!" Neo shouted as he entered the area with Mira. Makarov turned to face them before pulling out a hardhat and slapping it onto Neo's head before doing the same to Mira.

"This is a hardhat area, if I catch you without it while here I'm gonna smack you silly," Makarov told them.

Neo sweatdropped before thinking, _'Same old Gramps, both protecting us and threatening us at the same time.'_

"Neo," said male turned around to see Erza dressed in a construction outfit while hauling several pieces of lumber. "Great to see you here, we need a lot of metal."

"What kind of metal? As in, what shape do you want them to be?" Neo asked.

"Just beams and plates," Erza told him. Neo nodded and slammed his fists together as a grey seal appeared before him.

 **"Elemental Soul: Iron!"**

Neo morphed into his Iron Form and changed his hands into squares before he began to make all of the necessary items needed. About an hour and a half later, they had enough and Neo turned back to normal before placing his hands on his knees in exhaustion.

"You okay?" Lucy asked. She had arrived later and was helping out while Neo made the metal.

"Yeah, just a little tired," Neo told her as he gratefully took a bottle of water that Mira got for him. "Just haven't had to use my magic continuously for that long before."

He then stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I think that I'm gonna take a job, get us some more money for repairs," Neo said. He then walked over to the Job Board and scanned all of the jobs listed before his eyes landed on one in particular.

* * *

 **Skilled Mages wanted! There is a horde of Gorians raiding our town and stealing from us! We desperately need help quickly! Please help us!**

 **Location: Taiyo Town**

 **Reward: 6,000 Jewels**

* * *

"This should be good for the day," Neo said as he pulled it from the board. "Hey Mira, mark this one down for me."

"Okay, good luck!" Mira told him as she marked down the mission. Neo nodded and walked out towards the town to head towards the train station.

"Neo! Fight me!" Natsu shouted as he raced towards the S-Class Wizard. Neo just swung his arm to the side and clotheslined Natsu, sending him tumbling into a pilar.

"So fast!" Lucy shouted in shock.

Neo just shrugged and told her, "I am an S-Class after all." With that, he walked away.

"Master, shouldn't someone go with him?" Gray asked.

Makarov shook his head. "He'll be fine, Neo is an S-Class Mage so a group of Gorians won't even be a challenge."

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Shut up cat! You don't even know him!" Lucy yelled as she tried to strangle the blue cat.

* * *

(Train Station)

Neo sighed as he sat on the bench, waiting for the train. He missed the Guild and all, but sometimes their craziness would drive him up the wall, no wonder Erza was always uptight.

 _'But, at least they're lively. Being in a Guild that wasn't so...active would suck,'_ Neo thought with a smile. He spotted the train arriving and got onboard. He picked a lone booth to sit in and put on his lacrima headphones to relax.

"I wonder what Erza's doing right now?" Neo thought out loud. "Knowing her, she's probably beating up Natsu and Gray for fighting. reminds me of the first time I met her..."

* * *

(Flashback-Year X778)

"Master, I know that I said that I didn't want to be with people just yet, but why do I have to look on them from back here?" A seven year old Neo asked.

"Because I want you to know the people who you'll one day interact with," Makarov explained. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that you'll get a good laugh out of it."

"A laugh?" Neo questioned as he tilted his head. "I don't get it."

Makarov merely chuckled and told him, "You'll understand in a few minutes." He then walked off to mix and mingle with the rest of the Guild.

Neo just shook his head and watched all of the people as they laughed and enjoyed each other's company. He bit his lip as he wanted to join them, but knew that he couldn't. His magic was still uncontrollable, and he didn't want to hurt anybody.

"Quit staring at me you stripper!" Neo jerked his head to the side to see the pink haired boy, Natu if he recalled, glaring at a boy wearing only pants.

"How about you quit staring at me flame brain!" Gray yelled back. The two were touching foreheads and sparks could be seen flying from between their eyes. Neo looked on, wondering if this was what Makarov wanted him to watch.

But before the two could start, a female voice interrupted them, freezing the two boys in their tracks.

"What did I say about fighting?!" A young Erza yelled as she smashed the duo into the floor. Neo couldn't help but snicker at the events that happened. Unknown to him, Erza could hear his snickering and made a not to head over there when she was done with these two clowns.

"You two are Guildmates, so start acting like them!" Erza yelled in a threatening tone.

"Yes! We're getting along just fine!" Gray shouted as he wrapped an arm around Natsu.

"Aye!" Natsu agreed as he followed suit.

Neo was struggling to hold in his laughter at the sight he was beholding. _'I guess this is what Master was talking about,'_ he thought. When he finally got his laughter under control, he let out a sigh and opened his eyes to see a certain redhead looking down at him.

"Who are you?" Erza demanded. Neo began to panic, he wasn't supposed to be seen by a member of the Guild except for those who already knew of him. Neo began to shake with fear that he might be discovered by everyone.

"Who. Are. You?" Erza demanded again, this time with more force in her words.

"Y...Yo-you're n-n-not supposed to...kn-know about me-e-e," Neo shakily said. He gasped as he felt his magic start to act up, the familiar heat of his Fire Form building up within him.

"I won't ask again," Erza growled as she pulled out a sword. Neo was in quite the predicament, he had to try and control his magic while being threatened by a girl with a sword.

Makarov was over by the bar when he felt it, that little spike in magic power that felt similar to Neo's. He quickly looked over to where he left him and saw a hint of red hair, causing his eyes to widen. He quietly slipped away from the bar and raced towards the duo. He grabbed both Neo and Erza and raced towards the back door of the Guild and threw Neo to the middle of the backyard before slamming his hands on the ground.

"Sealing Magic: Soundless Barrier!" A circle of magic surrounded Neo and he threw his head back and let out a roar that only he could hear before his body erupted into flames, taking on his Fire Form. He was breathing heavilly as his magic was let out in a large amount. He caled down and looked up at Makarov and Erza.

"Master, who is this stranger? And why is he here?" Erza asked.

"Erza," Makarov began in a hard tone, "what I'm about to tell you is something that you should not be said to anyone else unless they already know about this. Neo is a child that Gildarts, and myself found in the forest, we brought him back to the Guild and have been helping him to control his magic ever since."

"But why haven't we seen him around the Guild before?" Erza asked.

"He didn't want others to see him yet," Makarov explained. "Neo's magic is unstable at the moment, and he wants to gain control of his magic so he doesn't hurt anyone."

Neo had calmed down and reverted back to normal before sitting down on the ground. He looked up to see that Makarov was explaining things to Erza, and closed his eyes before falling back onto the ground.

* * *

(Flashback End)

 _'I'm glad that Erza understood what was wrong with me. Her guidance really helped me gain control over this magic,'_ Neo thought. _'She was able to help me be ready for the S-Class trials only 2 years later. I really need to find some way to pay her back.'_

He felt the train slow to a stop and looked outside to see that they had arrived in Taiyo Town.

"Wow, time sure flies when you're lost in your own mind," Neo remarked. He pulled his headphones down to around his neck before exiting his cabin and getting off of the train.

"Well, time to start looking for the mayor," Neo said to himself as he began to walk through town. He looked around and saw that several buildings were undergoing repairs, most likely from the Gorian attacks.

 _'I'll fix this,'_ Neo thought to himself as he continued walking.

After about a half hour of wandering, Neo got fed up and asked a local where the mayor's house was. After being pointed in the right direction, he immediately slammed his face into a wall after seeing that he had passed that house at least three times. He then dusted off his clothes and walked up to the door and knocked.

"Hello?" A maid asked as she answered the door.

"Hi, I'm a Mage of Fairy Tail who accepted the job about the Gorians," Neo told her.

She then looked around and asked, "Are you the only one?"

"Yeah," he replied, which made her frown, "but don't worry, I'm an S-Class Mage." That definitely cheered her up, and she lead him inside to meet the mayor. She lead him to an office on the third floor and knocked on the door.

"Enter," a male voice said. The maid opened the door and motioned for Neo to enter. He nodded in thanks and walked inside, where he saw a man in his late 40's siting at a desk. He looked like he hadn't slept in several days and was on the brink of a panic attack.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name's Neo Banshin, a Fairy Tail Wizard," Neo introduced himself. "I came here because of the job you posted."

"I specifically asked for a team of Mages to handle this," the mayor frowned.

"Don't worry," Neo reassured him, "I'm an S-Class Wizard."

The mayor sighed in relief and slumped back into his chair. "Thank goodness, I was worried that we weren't being taken seriously."

"So what's the deal with the Gorians?" Neo asked. "From what I can tell, they're raiding the village to steal food."

"Yes, that's what they've been doing for the past week," the mayor explained. "The strange thing is that they haven't abducted any women."

"Vulcans abduct the women," Neo corrected him. "Gorians may be related to Vulcans, but they don't share everything. Though they may abduct women, it's really a rare thing when it comes to Gorians."

"I see," the mayor muttered. "Well, that takes some of the panic off of my mind."

"Do you know where the Gorians are holed up?" Neo asked. "I'm gonna go and take care of them."

"They're hiding out in the forest, just listen for the sounds of wild partying, you can't miss it," the mayor told him. Neo nodded and left the office.

* * *

(Taiyo Forest)

True to the mayors words, the Gorians were making a loud racket with all of their partying. Neo didn't even have to try to be quiet and just walked over there, crunching leaves and branches under his feet along the way. He observed the Gorians and counted about 15 of them. Eventually, one of the giant monkeys noticed him and called out to the others.

"Why man here? We no like man! Go away!"

"Wait! Maybe he taste good!"

"We roast him and put seasoning on him!"

The monkeys began to cheer at the thought of food and began to advance on Neo, who just sighed.

"Stupid monkeys, I'm going to give you one warning, leave the town alone and never bother them again," Neo demanded.

"No way! Town have good food! Better than food in forest!" A Gorian shouted.

"Then you leave me no choice... **Elemental Soul: Earth!"** Neo took on his rocky appearance and clenched his fists before launching towards a Gorian and slamming his fist into its stomach, sending the beast flying into a tree.

 **"Gravel Gun!"** Neo opened his hands and sent a storm of small pebbles at two of the Gorians, forcing them to cover themselves with their giant arms. Neo then ducked as another Gorian tried to take him from behind.

 **"Element Shift: Iron!"** Neo quickly became encased in metal and slammed his fist against the monsters face before giving it a hard kick into the stomach. He then morphed his hand into a hammer and slammed it into another Gorian, sending the beast tumbling into a tree.

"Get man! Why you all so weak?" A Gorian shouted.

"I'm just too strong for you!" Neo shouted as he slammed his iron-clad foot into the monkey's chin. He turned on his feet and jumped onto a branch and slammed his fists together.

 **"Element Shift: Water!"** Neo transformed into a being made of water. Like his other forms, his mouth and eyes were filled with a white light. Some bubbles could be seen floating through his body. A Gorian threw its fist at Neo, but it merely caused that part of his body to burst apart before reforming a moment later. The Fairy Tail Mage threw his arm to the side and created a watery whip before snapping it against the Gorian's back.

 **"Hydro Needle!"** Neo threw his arms out to the side and hundreds of water needles shot out of his chest, taking down three Gorians. He then sent a stream of water into the face of another Gorian that tried to jump him, sending the beast flying into a tree.

 **"Element Shift: Fire!"** Neo morphed into his fire form, causing the Gorians to back away in fear of being burned. He brought his hands close together and created a sphere of fire between them. He faced the Gorians and flashed them a predatory grin as the heat from the sphere became more intense.

 **"Inferno...Cannon!"** Neo thrust his hands forward and unleashed a stream of flames that sent four Gorians to the ground with massive burns on them. He then turned and sent out a wave of fire that caused a Gorian sneaking up on him to back away in fear.

"This is getting boring, time to end this," Neo muttered to himself. **"Element Shift: Earth!"**

Neo transformed into his earth-like form again. Only this time he was mixed with his fire form as the cracks that ran along his body turned red. He raised his fist into the air and slammed it onto the ground, creating a large explosion that decimated the Gorians and their home.

When he looked around, he saw that one Gorian was left shivering in fear while the others were unconscious. "So," Neo began, "you gonna leave the town alone now?"

"Yes! Yes! We leave town alone! No more hurting!" the Gorian pleaded. Neo smiled and formed holes on the bottom of his feet before expelling fire from those holes and rocketing back to the village. The large monkey sighed in relief and proceeded to fall onto his back and go to sleep.

* * *

(Taiyo Town)

"Thank you for all that you've done!" the mayor said as he shook Neo's hand.

Neo just chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with the other hand. "Please, it was nothing. I only did what any other honest Mage would do."

"But you still saved us, and in a quicker time than we anticipated. We shall sing praises of you," the mayor told him. "Is there a title that we should address you as? I know that Fairy Tail is host to famous Wizards like Salamander and Titania."

Neo blinked for a moment before he had a flashback of a similar situation.

* * *

(Flashback-Year X780)

A nine-year old Neo was sitting in Mira's kitchen as she had invited him over for dinner. The Strauss siblings had known of Neo from when Makarov first brought him into the Guild, and have been close with him ever since.

"I can't believe it," Lisanna sighed, "you're going to be leaving in a month."

"How long are you going to be away again?" Elfman asked the young boy.

"Gramps and I decided on four years," Neo answered. "He wanted it to be shorter, and I wanted it longer, so we came to a compromise."

Lisanna hummed and turned towards where Mira was cooking dinner. "And when you come back you're going to reveal yourself to everyone."

"With my Transformation on," Neo reminded her. "I'm not letting a lot of people know my real age."

"I still don't understand why you're doing that," Mira said as she brought over a large plate of Roast Beef.

"I don't want people to think I'm special because of my age," Neo reminded her. "I'm not an attention hog like you."

Mira merely stared at him before wrapping her arm around his neck and driving her fist into his skull, making him cry out in protest. Lisanna and Elfman just sat there and laughed at the duos antics as Neo managed to free himself by snaking his hand into Mira's underarm and wriggling his fingers, making the elder Strauss push him away while trying to contain her giggles before they sat down and ate.

After dinner, Elfman had retired to him room, leaving the girls and Neo in the kitchen.

"Say," Neo began, "do you think I'll get a title like you and Erza one day?"

"Of course you will!" Lisanna told him. "You're magic is awesome!" And then she mumbled. "But not as awesome as Natsu's..."

Giving her a knowing smirk which caused her to squeak in embarrassment, Neo then asked, "So what would my title be?"

Mira turned around and said to him, "That's easy, you're going to be..."

* * *

(Flashback End)

"Fairy Tail's Elemental Master," Neo told the mayor.

The mayor nodded and said, "All of Fiore will know of you."

Neo nodded and picked up his reward before heading towards the train station. He smiled as he heard the people already looking happier now that they didn't have to worry about the Gorians anymore.

 _'It feels good to do a good deed,'_ Neo thought. _'Leaves a good feeling in me.'_

* * *

 **And done!**

 **So this chapter was some more insight into Neo's abilities and some scenes from his past. I enjoy writing about Neo, he's just one of those OC's that you like. But then again, I like all of my OC's as they're a part of me, of my imagination.**

 **So let's talk a little about Fairy Tail. The manga's showing a new enemy for the team to face, and it's an empire to boot! Plus, they've got the strongest of the Ten Wizard Saints on their side, that'll be a challenge.**

 **Please Review! And have a Happy Fourth of July!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Pain of The Past

Chapter 4: The Pain of The Past

* * *

 **A good amount of positive feedback from last chapter! I just love the praise! Keep it coming!**

 **So I decided to just go right ahead into the Tower of Heaven Arc because I didn't have anything else in mind. Plus, I figured that I can just make up some original stuff at a later date. Not that I don't have anything in mind, I just don't have anything for right now.**

 **So sit back, relax, and enjoy.**

* * *

(Magnolia)

"Ahh, it's nice to be back home," Neo sighed as he got off of the train. He would have been back sooner, but he was stuck in Taiyo Town because of an accident along the tracks. The mess took several days to clear, but Neo didn't mind, as he was glad that he didn't have to become the Guild's metal maker for the time being. Not that he didn't mind, he just found the task quite mundane.

As he approached the Guild Hall, he saw that there was a small commotion. He picked up the pace, and saw that the newly christened "Team Natsu" was surrounding Loke, who was rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish expression.

"Hey, what's going on?" Neo asked.

"Oh Neo, you're back!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise.

"What took you so long?" Gray questioned him. "Taiyo Town is not that far from Magnolia."

Neo explained, "There was an accident on the tracks, so the railroad was shut down until everything was fixed."

"Hey Neo, did you know that Loke's a Celestial Spirit?!" Natsu asked as he got up in Neo's face.

The young teen pushed the Dragon Slayer away and asked, "Loke's a what-now?"

"It's true," the orange haired man said. "I was originally a Spirit who was exiled, but thanks to Lucy, I've been allowed back into the Spirit Realm. Leo the Lion at your service."

"It's only natural that a Celestial Spirit Mage would want to help a Celestial Spirit, especially one of the Twelve Zodiac," Neo chuckled. He didn't notice Lucy and Loke cringe a little at that.

"By the way Neo, can I talk to you privately for a sec?" Loke asked. Neo nodded and the duo stepped away from the group for a second.

"Since I got back to the Spirit World, my senses have gone back to being extremely high, so I know about the complete power of your magic," Loke whispered. Neo realized what he was saying and narrowed his eyes. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't use it when necessary, just to be careful with it. You don't want to lose your mind to their madness."

"I know what you mean," Neo sighed. "Don't worry, one day I'll be able to use my full power without any worries." Loke nodded and they walked back to the group. "By the way, shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm feeling a lot better than I was before," Loke told him. "Besides, I also wanted to see Lucy again," he finished making said girl blush.

"He looooooves you!" Happy teased.

"Shut it cat!" Lucy screamed before turning to the Celestial Spirit. "And you! You need to head back and get back to full strength!"

Loke laughed and waved her off. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I also came to give you guys something." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out several tickets.

"What are those?" Lucy asked.

"They're tickets to the awesome beach resort, this is just a little thank you gift," Loke explained. The group cheered as they danced around with their tickets, Neo included as he let the kid he really was show for a bit. "I already gave Erza her ticket, so I hope you guys enjoy yourselves."

"Come on! Don't waste any time!" Erza shouted. "She was wearing a floral shirt, shorts, a sunhat, and had an inner tube around her waist while carrying a wagon full of beach supplies.

"Crap! I need to go pack! Don't leave without me!" Neo yelled as he raced home while to get his beach supplies. _'This is gonna be a blast! It's been forever since I've been at a beach!'_

* * *

(Akane Resort-Next Day)

Lucy was laughing as she rode on a board that was hooked to a large fish. She looked like she was having a lot of fun. Natsu...not so much. Neo grinned as he saw the look of torture on the Dragon Slayers face, it just looked so amusing to him.

"Owie owie hot hot hot!" Happy cried as he hopped along the beach, the heat from the sand burning his small feet. Erza and Gray were bouncing a beach ball around while the Elemental Master was relaxing on beach chair under the sun. The bright red Fairy Tail emblem on his right bicep was now visible for the world to see.

The next thing he knew, he was wacked in the face by the beach ball as Erza missed Gray's spike. He looked up to see the Ice Make Mage laughing his ass off, and gave him a feral grin.

"So, you want to play rough, do you?" Neo asked as he grabbed the ball and reared back. "Well how's _this_!?" he threw the ball and watched as it slammed into Gray's stomach, knocking him off of his feet. Eventually, they got into their own game of dodgeball before Lucy and Natsu came to shore, and then they started to play some volleyball.

Later, everyone was in the resort getting ready to have fun at the casino. Neo had put on his regular clothes, as they looked nice enough, and was now waiting for Erza. He would have stayed with Natsu and Gray, but they had gotten into another fight and didn't feel like playing peacemaker.

"Oh, you're not downstairs?" Lucy asked as she walked up to the door. Neo opened his eyes and saw that she was wearing a red dress along with a red bow.

"Nope, I decided to be a gentleman and wait for Erza," Neo replied. "And now that you're here, you can go in and check on her."

Lucy raised and eyebrow and asked, "Why didn't you go in and check on her?"

Neo gave her a look and said, "Do I look like I want to be impaled? What if I catch her in a moment that's for women only?"

Lucy giggled nervously and replied, "Well I guess you have a point." She then knocked on the door and opened it. "Erza, get out of the room and have some fun! Natsu and Gray are already downstairs."

"That's right, there's a casino here isn't there?" Erza said.

"Yup, I'm gonna go and rob everyone of their money," Neo called out.

"Very well then," he then heard her **Requiping** into something. As soon as she was done, Neo peeked in and saw that she was wearing a purple dress with red flowers on the side. She was wearing white gloves that went past her elbows, and her hair was tied up in a bun. "So how do I look?" she asked as she posed.

Neo gave her a thumbs up while Lucy said how she was a bit glitzy. When Lucy left, Neo saw that Erza was looking at herself in the mirror.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just relaxing," Erza replied as she gave him a reassuring smile. Neo returned the smile and began to head downstairs to the casino. He saw that Natsu and happy were playing some kind of magical roulette game, and were constantly losing. Of course, it didn't help that they were picking the same number over and over again.

He looked over and saw Gray with a blue haired lady that had a golden necklace of the Fairy Tail insignia. She was also wearing a blue dress. Neo instantly recognized her as Juvia of Phantom Lord, but saw that she wasn't displaying any negative feelings. Rather, she was displaying positive ones instead.

The red and gold haired youth sat down at a Blackjack table and began to play with the other patrons. Neo was enjoying himself, especially as he was winning most of the games.

Eventually, one of the patrons had enough. He slammed his hands down on the table and shouted, "This guy is obviously cheating! There's no way he can be winning this much!"

Neo raised an eyebrow and asked, "And how am I cheating? Please, tell me. Because I highly doubt that you can cheat at Blackjack, where the dealer is the ones with all the cards." With that, Neo collected his winnings and left the table. He walked over to where Gray and Juvia were and sat down next to the blue haired lady.

"You look like you've had it rough," Gray remarked.

"I've been accused of cheating just because I have an insane amount of luck," Neo replied as he presented his winnings. "So Gray, you already found a friend for the night?"

"Yeah, Juvia's been hoping that she could join Fairy Tail once the whole situation with Phantom Lord cools down," Gray explained.

"I'm sure that Gramps will be fine with it," Neo said. "After all, Juvia's been known as the least violent of the Element Four."

"Gray Fullbuster?" a voice asked. The trio turned around to see a tall man with tanned skin wearing a white turban and a metal jaw along with an eyepatch over his left eye. He had a green shirt that covered one side of his body. A silver magic seal appeared from his right eye and caused an explosion where the three of them stood.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" Neo demanded as he and Gray glared at the man.

"Where is Erza?" he asked. "Where is she?"

"You think I'd tell you?" Gray asked as a stream of water came a formed Juvia.

"I won't so much as let you lay a finger on my beloved!" Juvia declared. If the situation wasn't so serious, Neo was sure that he would have fallen over in laughter from her words. "Go to Erza, I fear that she is in grave danger."

The man then placed his left hand on his temple. "Ah, you've already found her. Very well, I'll clean up things here." Suddenly, his eye began to glow red and all of the lights went out.

 **"Dark Moment,"** The man's voice said. **"Dark Burst!"**

There was then an explosion that sent rubble flying everywhere. When the dust cleared, the man had vanished and Gray and Juvia could be seen lying on the floor. But Neo was nowhere to be seen.

Neo regretted leaving those two lying there, but he had no choice as they were going after Erza. And he knew that they were both safe, as he saw Juvia pull the real Gray to safety. The S-Class Mage stuck to the shadows as he followed the mans magical energy, he obviously didn't know how to hide it properly, neither did his companions by the energy he felt. But what really confused him was that he could tell that Erza wasn't even fighting back, that her energy was fluctuating in a nervous manner.

When he got to the upper floor, he saw that Lucy was tied up by some kind of rope and in a painful position, and that Erza was in the arms of the man from before, unconscious. There was also some blocky man with a purple suit, a young man with dark skin in a dealer's outfit, and a young woman with cat-like features who was cuddling with an unconscious Happy..

 _'Why is it that the bad guys are always full of weirdoes?'_ Neo asked himself.

"We got what we came for, let's go home," the man said.

"You're not going anywhere," Neo declared as he stepped out of the shadows. "Now put Erza down, and I may let out walk away without any serious injuries."

"Neo!" Lucy cried out happily.

"Who's this guy?" The blocky man asked as he raised up his arm, which had turned into some kind of gun.

"He was at the bar with another member of Fairy Tail," the man with the eyepatch explained. "I did not expect him to recover so quickly."

"I won't ask again, put her down. Now!" Neo demanded.

"I'm afraid that we can't let that happen," the man said as he hefted Erza over his shoulder.

Neo glared at him and said, "It's not often that I use a certain part of my magic on my opponents. But I don't care right now as you've made me _very_ angry!" He then slammed his hands together as a pitch black seal appeared before him.

 **"Elemental Soul: Darkness!"** Neo exploded in a pillar of shadows. Meanecing red eyes opened up and stared into the souls of the strangers before him. When the darkness faded, Neo was gone, and in his place was a figure made entirely out of darkness. Both his eyes and mouth glowed with a red light that made him look terrifying.

 **"Ebony Blast!"** Neo thrust his right hand forward and released a beam of darkness that struck the dark skinned youth in the chest and sent him flying back.

"Take this ya creep!" The blocky man shouted as he raised up his gun arm and released a blast at Neo. The transformed teen burst apart into smaller shadows that joined together again a small distance away. In his hands was a large orb made out of shadows.

"Perish! **Dark Obliteration!"** Neo threw the orb forward at the man, but he broke apart into cubes as the spell tore a hole through the wall and flew straight into the sea.

The large man raised his free hand and created a magic seal. **"Dark Moment!"** he cried as the room was plunged into darkness as his visible eye glowed, allowing him to see through the darkness. His eye grew wide as he saw Neo darting right towards him and gave him a shoulder tackle, causing him to drop Erza and take several steps back.

 **"Nightmare Claw!"** Neo roared as his hands morphed into claws and he slashed at the mans chest, causing him to cry out in pain as he stumbled back, the darkness fading. He raised a hand to his chest, but didn't feel any blood or cuts.

"Confused? I bet you are," Neo said. "See, my Darkness Form doesn't leave any physical damage to you. I can touch you and knock you back like I did to your friend, but I can't damage your body. My attacks will just drain you of your magic."

"So a prolonged fight against you in that form is very unwise," the man said as he got up. Neo nodded and prepared to attack him again.

"Hold it right there shadow boy!" the blocky man shouted. Neo looked over to see that he had his gun pointed straight at Lucy, who was trembling in fear. "One more step and this dame is gonna get a not-so-dandy ending."

 _'You IDIOT! How could you forget about Lucy!? She was RIGHT THERE!'_ Neo berated himself. Neo growled as he backed away from the large man, who picked up Erza and rejoined his allies, the dark skinned teen joining them as well.

"A wise choice," the tall man said to Neo.

"Bye bye! Meow!" the female waved as she clutched Happy tightly. The four of them vanished with a teleportation spell. As soon as they vanished, Neo banished his Darkness Form and rushed towards Lucy.

"Lucy! Are you alright?" Neo asked.

"No!" she grunted, "this rope keeps getting tighter!" Neo morphed his right arm into a metal blade and swiftly cut the rope, freeing the Celestial Mage.

"Thanks! But what about the other people?" Lucy asked.

"What other people?" Neo asked. He looked around but only saw cards scattered along the floor.

"The people trapped in the cards!" Lucy told him. Neo picked up a card and his eyes widened as he saw a moving image of a man in a costume.

"I...I don't know how to dispel this kind of magic!" Neo exclaimed. "Card magic is _not_ something I understand, no matter how many times Cana tries to explain it to me! Come on, we have to check on the others!"

Lucy nodded and followed Neo as he raced downstairs. They found Gray and Juvia right where Neo left them. Apparently Juvia had saved Gray by enveloping him in water. The four of them then found Natsu lying among the rubble of a broken game.

"Come on you flame head! Wake up!" Neo shouted as he shook the Dragon Slayer.

"Blocky!" Natsu shouted as he shot up with a start and uppercutted Neo right in the chin. The Elemental Master was sent flying back and stared up at the ceiling in a daze. "Where are ya you blockhead!?" Natsu shouted as he looked around.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, getting his attention. The Dragon Slayer looked around and saw Neo on the floor.

"Hey Neo, whatcha doing on the floor?" Natsu asked.

Neo's head snapped forward and he yelled, "You're the one who sent me into the floor! Watch where you're throwing those fists!"

"Hey, where's Happy?" Natsu asked as he noticed the lack of his best friend.

"One of the people who took Erza had him," Lucy told him.

"WHAAAAAT!?" Natsu yelled. "Where are they, I'm gonna burn them!" he began to fiercly search the room for any signs of Happy. "Wait a minute, they took Erza too?!"

"Yeah, and they seemed to know her. One of them called her 'sister'," Lucy explained.

"Impossible, she told me she was an only child," Neo said.

Lucy then told him, "Yeah, but these guys looked so different from each other."

"Maybe they formed a bond and refer to each other as siblings," Gray offered. "But what I don't get is what they want with Erza."

"I'm gonna get them, they ain't taking Happy and Erza from me!" Natsu shouted as he ran outside.

"Follow him!" Gray yelled. "His nose is sharper than most animals!" The group quickly raced outside and saw Natsu heading towards the beach.

"I can smell them," Natsu said, "they're out on the sea."

Neo grunted in frustration. "Then this might be bad for you, especially if we have to fight them on a boat."

"No, they said something about a tower," Lucy told him, "the Tower of Heaven or something like that."

"A place like that sounds like it should be full of angels or something like that," Gray remarked.

"Well, based on our attackers, then they must be fallen angels," Neo joked.

"Gray-sama, Juvia has found a boat that we may use to cross the ocean," Juvia said.

Neo pulled Gray aside and whispered to him, "Get the girls on the boat first, then you and I will throw Natsu on board before we shove off. Ain't no way he'll get on willingly, even if it was the only way to save Happy and Erza."

Gray nodded in agreement and quickly ushered Lucy and Juvia onto the boat before he and Neo snuck behind Natsu. They quickly grabbed his arms and legs before throwing him onto the boat. Natsu flailed through the air and landed on his head as Gray jumped onto the boat, Neo quickly pushed the boat into the water and turned his hand into a flame and used it to propel the boat forward.

"Hey! What's the big-URK!" Natsu instantly became sick the moment the boat moved.

"Alright flame-brain, which way?" Gray asked. Natsu weakly pointed in one direction before he limply hung over the side of the boat once more. Neo altered his course and pushed more power to his flame, making the boat go faster, and Natsu sicker.

* * *

(Later)

"There it is," Neo said as he and the rest of the group, sans a still sick Natsu, looked up at the large tower built upon a remote island.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Lucy asked.

Gray turned to her and said, "His nose works even when he's like this," as he jerked his thumb at the sick Natsu.

The boat stopped at the shore and both males heaved their incapacitated friend onto the shore, where he instantly became better.

"Anyone see an entrance?" Neo asked as he went and hid the boat.

"Yeah, but it's guarded," Gray told him as he spied masked guards with demonic looking guard dogs.

"Then we just go and smash our way in!" Natsu declared as he went towards the entrance. Neo quickly grabbed him by his scarf and dragged him back.

"We need to go in there _without_ alerting the whole place that we're there!" Neo hissed.

"Gray-sama," Juvia said as she popped out of the water, "Juvia has found an entrance into the tower underwater."

"Great job Juvia," Gray said as he gave her a thumbs up, causing the woman to swoon at him.

 **"Elemental Soul: Water!"** Neo transformed into his water form and slipped into the water as Juvia made air bubbles for everyone.

 _'Hang on Erza, we're coming!'_ Neo thought as he and everyone made their way inside.

* * *

 **And done! The start of the Tower of Heaven Arc is complete! Next chapter we head inside to rescue Erza and Happy!**

 **Not really much to say here, only that I'm shocked at the revelations in the manga, though I had a feeling about one aspect that I won't reveal until I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.**

 **Please Review! Ciao!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Tower of Heaven

Chapter 5: The Tower of Heaven

* * *

 **I'm back my wonderful fans! And with a new friend who I call, Chapter 5! I hope that you all can get along with him, despite his rudeness for his lateness!**

 **In all seriousness though, I am very pleased with how this story is turning out. The positivity that is coming from the reviews is making me very happy. Hopefully I can keep pumping out chapters that all of you will love.**

 **I've decided to bring Review Time to this story as well, now lets go through the reviews for Chapter 4!**

 **Wentsufan234 (Guest): Yeah, the romance will start after the timeskip. I know that this might be a long time, but good things come to those who wait. Elemental Skies? That sounds like an interesting name.**

 **By the way, as I'm an avid FFXIV gamer, I get some Pharos Sirius vibes from this tower. Watch a play-through and you'll see what I mean.**

 **Side note: I'm going by the manga as I can't find the episodes for this ark incase any of you get confused by the events here.**

 **Now then, let's get this party started!**

* * *

(Off The Coast of Akane Resort)

The group of mages quickly moved through the underwater passage towards the interior of the tower. They emerged in an underground cavern and climbed up onto a platform.

"So this is the bottom," Natsu noted.

"That took some more time than I thought it would," Neo noted.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed.

"Juvia is surprised you made it as Juvia purposely made your bubble smaller than everyone else's," Juvia muttered. Lucy looked at her in shock while Neo just shook his head at the woman's antics.

"Intruders!" a guard on a flying beast shouted. Almost instantly, there was a large battalion of guards on the walkways.

Neo sighed and said, "We should have just busted through the front door at this rate, probably would have taken less time as well."

"Oh well, no use complaining now! **Elemental Soul: Earth!"** Neo transformed into his earthen form and hefted up a large stone in his arms. Natsu and Gray were already at work taking out their share of the guards. Lucy had summoned Virgo and used their distraction to her bathing suit to easily finish them off. Juvia merely swept them away with her water as she couldn't be harmed by their weapons.

"Hey morons! Catch!" Neo shouted as he threw the rock at the guards, taking out a lot of them. He then slammed his arms onto the ground and generated a wave of rubble that took out the rest of them. Neo was then surrounded by guards, and he raised an eyebrow in amusement.

 **"Element Shift: Lighting!"** Neo changed into his lightning form and crossed his arms.

 **"Discharge!"** Neo cried as he threw his arms out, a shockwave of electricity emerging from his body and shocking all of the guards. About half of them fell, while the others were wobbling on their feet.

"You're still up? Guess I didn't put enough into that, let's try again," Neo said as he crossed his arms once more. **"Dis...CHARGE!"** Neo cried as he let out a larger burst of electricity, shocking the guards badly, and making sure that they fell. Neo then changed back to normal as everyone met up again.

"Well that was a good workout," Neo said as he cracked his neck. Then a large stone passageway came from the mouth of an ancient looking face.

"I think this is their way of saying 'come on in'," Gray said.

"They're obviously expecting us," Lucy told them.

Neo stepped forward and said, "Well, the best way to take care of a trap is to spring it while being prepared."

After heading though the tower and taking care of more guards, the group ended up in some kind of dining room with a large table full of food. Natsu and Gray instantly jumped over and began to eat while Juvia just took some soup.

"Now isn't the time!" Lucy shrieked. Neo just shrugged and grabbed some meat before beginning to eat.

"Why not? It would be a waste otherwise," Neo told her.

"By the way Princess, your outfit leaves little to the imagination," Virgo told her summoner.

"Really? You think I should change?" Lucy asked as she hugged herself. Virgo gained a glint in her eyes and advanced towards Lucy before pouncing on her, changing her right in front of everyone.

"Don't look at her my beloved!" Juvia wailed as Gray gawked at the scene before him. Neo choked on his meat at Virgo's actions and quickly wiped away a trickle of blood from his nose.

Natsu was still stuffing his face.

"So how do I look?" Lucy asked as she posed. She was wearing a green dress with a green hair-cover over her head.

"Look's great," Gray told her, much to Juvia's dismay.

"They're here!" Everyone turned to see several guards rushing towards them. As they prepared o fight, the guards were thrown aside by Erza.

"Erza!" They all shouted in surprise. Erza looked at them with a shocked face.

"What are you all doing here?" Erza asked in a strained tone.

"We came to rescue you!" Lucy told her.

"You have to leave here now!" Erza demanded.

The group was shocked at her words. "What?!" Natsu and Gray shouted, anger visible in their eyes.

"This place is dangerous, you shouldn't be here! Leave now!" Erza demanded once again.

Natsu stepped forward and said, "I'm not leaving here until I pay back that blocky guy for shooting me in the mouth! And not until I get Happy back!"

"What? They have Happy?" Erza asked. "It must have been Milliana, don't worry, Milliana loves cats, so she wouldn't hurt Happy."

"I don't care! I'm going to get my little buddy back!" Natsu roared as he raced into the tower.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted as he began to move. That is, until Erza blocked his path with a sword.

"What the Hell Erza!?" Neo shouted.

"You have to leave this place now!" Erza yelled. "I won't allow you to get involved with this!"

"We were involved the moment you were taken!" Neo yelled back. "Did you just expect us to leave you on your own?! We're Fairy Tail Wizards for crying out loud! Now are you gonna tell us what's your deal with this place or what?!"

Erza was stunned for a moment before she sighed and looked back at the group with tears falling out of her left eye, socking everyone.

"I wasn't always the strong Titania that you all know now..."

So Erza told them her story, about how she and many children were captured by Dark Wizards to be used as slaves to construct the tower that they were standing in today. She told them of her friends, the ones who captured her, and about Jellal, the boy who gave her hope.

Eventually, they tried to escape, and Erza was taken to be punished as an example to the others, costing her her right eye. Jellal had rallied the other slaves to fight back, which had allowed him to rescue her, and she joined in the revolt. Jellal was captured by the Dark Wizards, and Erza had to watch her surrogate grandfather, Rob, be killed defending her.

When she had reached Jellal, he had changed, claiming that he would finish the tower in the name of Zeref, before banishing her to the mainland while destroying the other ships, claiming that Erza had destroyed them. He had convinced them to continue building the tower, in hopes that they would be freed.

"...and after that, I wandered around until I reached Fairy Tail. You should already know what happened then."

"So now that you're here, you want to face your past and finish what you started," Neo spoke. Erza nodded and Neo sighed. "Now that I know this, it'd leave a bad taste in my mouth if we left at this point.

"Hold on, you said that they wanted to revive Zeref," Lucy began, "wasn't he the one who created Lullaby?"

"And Deliora," Erza confirmed, much to Gray's shock. "Zeref was a Black Wizard who could create demons with ease. I don't know why Jellal would believe that reviving him would lead them to paradise, but I intend to put an end to that nightmare."

"Such a wonderful story Nee-chan."

Everyone turned to see the dark skinned male standing before them.

"Sho," Erza muttered.

"It's too bad that it's all a lie," Sho sneered. "Do you honestly think that anyone who was actually here at the beginning would ever believe your story? I know what really happened!"

"Jellal told us that you went mad with all of your magic power and destroyed the ships we were going to use to escape! You left us behind!" Sho screamed.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Neo asked. "If that were true, then there would be a lot of crazy people in the world."

Sho stepped back for a second before he glared at them and said, "Shut up! You fools don't understand anything about us! Jellal saved us so we've devoted our lives to building this tower for him for the past 8 years! For Jellal! Has all of this been a lie?!"

"Correct," a deep voice replied. Everyone turned to see the Mage with the metal mask at the doorway.

"Simon!" Erza gasped while Sho looked at him in shock.

"Jellal had lied to us, all to keep us here and build this tower for him," Simon said as he approached the group.

"You again!" Gray growled as he prepared to attack the Mage, but Juvia stopped him.

"Wait Gray-sama, Juvia saw that he knew that he defeated our fakes, but he never came after Juvia, who would not be able to move while protecting you," Juvia explained. Gray huffed but lowered his arms.

"As expected of one of Phantom's Four," Simon said before turning to Sho. "I was originally going to knock you out, but your clone made things easier."

"You...tricked us?" Sho gasped.

"You, Wally, Milliana, and everyone else have been fooled by Jelal," Simon explained. "I pretended to go along all these years."

"Simon...you..." Erza whispered.

"I never lost faith in you," Simon told her.

"How? How can you just trust her like that?" Sho asked as he fell to his knees. "Who am I supposed to believe!?"

Erza approached him and knelt down. "I know it's hard to accept everything right now, but just know that I never stopped thinking about you guys."

"Are you ready to go?" Simon asked. "I've been waiting for this moment for 8 years, when powerful mages would gather here."

"You want us to fight Jelal, right?" Neo asked, to which Simon nodded.

"But first we need to stop Salamander and Wally from fighting, we need everyone at full strength," Simon told them.

"Then let's go!" Neo shouted as he raced towards the hallway, everyone following his lead. "So which way?"

"One moment," Simon told him as he put two fingers to his head. "Damnit! My link with Wally and Milliana is being blocked!"

"Link?" Lucy echoed.

"Thought Transmission Magic," Juvia told her.

"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Gray asked. "I mean, I accept that he didn't try to kill us, and that's all good. But in that situation, Natsu and Lucy could have died."

"I won't try to make excuses, but I will say that you're underestimating Natsu's power," Simon told him.

"And what about me?" Lucy asked shakily, only to be ignored.

"You still haven't reaized Natsu's true power, the power of a Dragon Slayer," Simon continued.

Suddenly, there was a large rumbling through the tower. All the Fairy Tail mages looked at one another and nodded in agreement.

"Natsu," They all said.

"So he must have defeated Wally and Milliana then," Simon sighed. "While not having theit help is regrettable, there is no avoiding what was bound to happen."

 _"Welcome everybody,"_ a voice rang throughout the tower. _"Welcome to the Tower of Heaven."_

"What's going on?" Neo asked.

"Jellal is using the transmission system to speak with us," Simon explained.

 _"I am Jellal, the one who controls this tower,"_ he continued. _"All the pieces on both sides has been placed, it's time to begin The Paradise Game."_

"A game? What game?" Lucy asked.

 _"The rules are simple, I will use Erza as a sacrifice in a ceemony to revive Zeref. Needless to say, if I open the gates to Paradise, then I win."_

"Does he honestly think that we'll let him use Erza as a sacrifice?" Neo growled.

 _"If you can prevent this, then you win. But to make the game more interesting, I have four players on my side, and you have to beat them to get me. Thus, a seven on four battle."_

"'Four players'?" Simon echoed. "Who could they be?"

 _"Lastly, there's a time limit. The Magic Council plans to attack this place using Etherion."_

"They're using WHAT!?" Neo cried, voicing everyone's thoughts.

 _"I don't think I need to explain what happens when it fires, but it will be Game Over for everyone. So enjoy."_

"Etherion? From the Council?" Erza whispered. "They couldn't be so reckless as to do so, could-"

She was cut off as Sho turned her into a card.

"What are you doing?!" Simon shouted.

"I won't let anyone lay a hand on Nee-san. I'll kill Jellal myself!" Sho declared as he began running down a corridor.

"I'll go after him!" Neo shouted as he ran after the dark skinned boy. "You guys go find Natsu!"

Neo took off after the former subordinate of Jellal. He would have caught up to him by now, but the young man had a good set of leg muscles on him.

"Damnit! Just slow down already!" Neo yelled as he raced after Sho.

"No! I'm going to kill Jellal and keep Nee-san safe!" Sho yelled back.

The chase continued on for a few more minutes until they heard the sound of ringing bells and saw cherry blossoms floating around.

"The Hell?" Sho asked as he came to a stop, Neo just behind him.

A pink haired woman wearing a white kimono with red accents slowly walked towards them while singing. She had large platform sandals on her feet, and a long katana in her hands.

"I am Ikaruga. Greetings," The woman introduced herself.

"Move it," Sho demanded.

"Oi, calm down," Neo told him. "Can't you tell she's not someone to take lightly?"

"My my, such a boorish young man," Ikaruga chided.

"Out of the way!" Sho yelled as he threw a storm of cards at her. She calmly gripped her katana and quickly unsheathed it, slicing all of the cards down the middle in an instant.

"There is nothing I cannot slice through," Ikaruga calmly said as she took action again, this time cutting up Sho along the chest.

"Sho!" Erza and Neo shouted out.

"Oh?" Ikaruga noted Erza's card as she floated down to the ground. "So you were there all along."

"Let Erza out! That woman's not your average swordsman!" Neo shouted.

"Don't worry, that card's a separate dimension, it's impossible to hurt Nee-chan while she's in-" Sho was cut off by a flash of light as Ikaruga slashed again. Sho looked on in shock as the woman's slashed actually went into the card after Erza, who was blocking them furiously.

"She cut into a different dimension!?" Sho exclaimed. Ikaruga kept on slashing, increasing her speed and unleashing more attacks. Neo tightened his fists and began to channel magic into his arms to attack, but Erza suddenly appeared and the card she was trapped in was reduced to ribbons.

"Thanks to you, there was a distortion on space that allowed me to make my escape," Erza explained as she faced the pink haired woman. "Now stand down or else."

"Erza, I highly doubt that she'll leave just because you asked," Neo told her.

"Fufufu..." Ikaruga chuckled.

"What?" Erza gasped as her armor was destroyed.

"That was a greeting," Ikaruga told her. "Oh? Don't tell me you didn't see that?"

 _'That sword style, it seems like an enhanced version of Iaido,'_ Neo thought. _'I hope Erza can handle this.'_

"You were so focused on rushing towards Jellal, that you never noticed the flurry of slices that rushed towards you," Iakruga told Erza. "I am no mere passerby on the road."

"So it would seem," Erza agreed as she Re-quiped into her Heavens Wheel armor. Both of the swordswomen prepared themselves to attack.

In an instant, they leapt towards one another and unleashed a flurry of strikes from their swords. Erza then leapt up into the air and summoned more swords.

 **"Circle Sword!"** Erza cried as she sent a spinning ring of swords at her opponent.

Ikaruga merely smirked and gripped the handle of her sword. **"Mugetsu-Ryuu. Yahsa Senkuu!"** She cried as she unleashed a slash from her sword that sliced apart all of Erza's swords her armor.

"Erza!" Neo cried out in shock.

"Nee-san!" Sho shouted.

 **"Mugetsu-Ryuu. Karura-En!"** Ikaruga unleashed a wave of fire from her sword.

 **"Elemental Soul: Fire!"** Neo cried as he transformed.

 **"Re-quip: Flame Empress Armor!"** Erza shouted as she summoned red themed armor that was flame resistant. Both of them absorbed the flames and came out unharmed. However, Erza was sent flying into the wall.

"Flame resistant armor? Impressive that you managed to Re-quip and defend yourself in an instant," Ikaruga praised.

"Aaagh!" Erza cried as he armor fell apart once more.

"But I suggest that you use your strongest armor if you want to have a fighting chance."

"None have seen this armor and lived to tell the tale! **Re-quip: Purgatory Armor!"** Erza cried as she changed into black demonic armor, the mere sight of it displaying great power...but it was easily cut to pieces like the armors from before.

"So that was your strongest armor?" Ikaruga questioned. Erza said nothing as she fell backwards. "You see now, yes? No matter what armor you wear, it means nothing against my blade. Just surrender."

Erza said nothing as she slowly stood up, a defiant glare on her face. She Re-quiped into red hakama pants with flame designs on the bottom, and white wrappings around her chest. Her red hair was tied up into a high ponytail and she held two swords in her hands.

"What are you doing Erza!?" Neo yelled. "I know you have more armor than that! Why are you just wearing regular clothes?!"

"Are you underestimating me?" Ikaruga asked calmly.

"Nee-san what's wrong with you!? You have tons of strong armor left right!? You're stronger than this!" Sho cried.

"No, I'm not strong," Erza told him. "I failed to protect my family, I wasn't strong enough to save the people I cared about. And...I was always crying, I locked my own heart in a suit of armor because of my weakness."

"Erza..." Neo whispered.

"But I now know that the armor wasn't keeping me safe, it was blocking the bonds between peoples hearts, preventing me from really connecting to them," Erza continued. "But Fairy Tail taught me the truth, that it's so much better to be close to people than be alone."

"Prepare yourself!" Ikaruga cried as she dashed forward. "This is the end!"

"I no longer have any doubts! I'm fighting not for myself, but for my family!," Erza shouted as she dashed forward as well. They both sliced and rested across from each other, their backs facing each other. Neo and Sho held their breath as they waited to see who won.

"Ungh!" Erza grunted as she gained a cut on her shoulder, much to the boys horror. Ikaruga smiled as she turned around, but that smile quickly faded to shock as she coughed up blood. Sho and Neo cheered at Erza's victory.

"I have never been defeated...not since the guild was founded...until today..." Ikaruga lamented. "However...your victory...will be in vain. Fifteen minutes."

"What?!" Neo shouted.

 _"See it plummet down...shining light of justice...bringing death to all..."_ Ikaruga sang. "Such a beastly poem."

"Sho! Are you alright?" Erza asked.

"Y-yeah," he replied.

"I need you to go to Simon and get everyone out of the tower! We don't have much time until Etherion fires!" Erza shouted.

"What about you?!" Neo yelled.

"I'm going to finish this," Erza declared. "I'm going to face Jellal and end this."

"Now now, we can't have you doing that, you haven't beaten all of the players yet," a voice echoed.

"Who's there?!" Erza demanded. She was answered as the shadows around her warped and merged to create the shape of a man. He was wearing a purple ninja outfit, he had a headband with the same skull image that Ikaruga wore on her kimono.

"Greetings insects, I am Doware, and I am the last player for Jellal's side," he said, taking a mock bow.

"Out of my way!" Erza shouted as she raced towards him with her swords raised. The Dark Mage merely raised his hand and a wall of shadows raised up to block Erza's strike.

"How weak," he laughed as a fist shot out of the wall and sent Erza flying back. Neo jumped up into the air and caught her, setting her down as he landed.

"Erza, go on ahead and face Jellal, I'll take care of this guy," Neo said. Erza went to say something, but closed her mouth when she saw the determination in his eyes.

"Alright, but be careful, we've got less than fifteen minutes until the Etherion fires," Erza reminded him.

Neo shot her a grin and told her, "Relax, I'll be done with this clown in no time."

Erza nodded and raced forward again. Doware sighed and held out his hands again.

"Didn't you learn the first time?" he asked. He was about to block the Titania again, but jumped away as a bolt of lightning struck where he was. He kept moving around to avoid getting struck, and when Neo finished his assault, Erza was already gone, and Sho had left to get the others out of the tower.

"Do you really think you can take me boy?" Doware asked as he pulled out a pair of knives from his belt.

"I think I'm more than a match for you old man," Neo taunted, knowing that he would get a rise out of his opponent.

True enough, Doware gained a tick mark on his forehead and tightened his grip on his knives. "You're about to learn what it means to suffer, prepare yourself!" He dashed forward, ready to stab Neo.

"And you're about to learn what it means to get crushed! **Elemental Soul: Earth!"** Neo quickly transformed into his earthen form and blocked Doware's attack. He shoved the Dark Wizard back and slammed his fist into the ground. Stone stalagmites rose from the ground and the Dark Wizard leapt back, lest he be impalled by them.

"And I'm about to teach you not to mess with Fairy Tail!"

* * *

 **That's it! I'm finally done!**

 **I'm so sorry! I've just been real slow lately, but I'm trying to get myself back on track! So please accept my deepest apologies!**

 **Next chapter will be Neo vs. Doware. Originally, I wanted him to fight Ikaruga, but shut down that idea as Erza needed to fight her in order for her to grow in character.**

 **So the ToH arc will be 2 more chapters at the most. Not that long I know, but I honestly want to speed things up a bit and get Neo to meeting Wendy sooner. Also to get to some of my better story ideas that I have for this.**

 **Please Review! Ciao!**


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